One Sentence Offends the Navy's High Command

Guernica didn't keep Ross waiting long—he'd said an hour, but was back in twenty minutes.

The information Ross wanted was already in the World Government's archives; Ross figured the only time-consuming part would be reporting to the Five Elders, aka his grandfather. The rest was just picking up documents on-site.

"Saint Ross, this is the list you requested."

Taking the roster from Guernica's hands, Ross first picked up Impel Down's copy.

Celestial Dragons had a long tradition of fishing slaves out of Impel Down—he'd done it himself several times before.

Only back then he'd been looking for toys; this time he needed tools.

He skimmed through the upper levels quickly, just picking a few names per floor for Guernica to capture and bring him as slaves.

These were the capital for his initial accumulation—a good chance to see how much experience pirates of different calibers could give him.

As he flipped further back, Ross's attention soon locked onto the lowest level's roster.

Beyond consumables for leveling up, he also needed tools that could fight.

Pirates never fought alone; the world was vast and boundless. Even if he became king of the world, one man couldn't govern such a huge territory alone.

"Golden Lion, Byrnndi World, Douglas Bullet..."

Ross read the names, eyebrows lifting slightly.

This list really did have quite a few surprises.

Even twenty years before the story began, Impel Down had taken in plenty of talent.

In a few more years, this list would have even more names.

After just a brief glance, Ross set the list down.

Sightseeing was enough—he didn't plan to demand these people now.

The prisoners on Impel Down's lowest level were strong, sure, but not a single one was easy to handle. Quite a few had actually killed Celestial Dragons.

Without some self-preservation strength, bringing them in would be dangerous.

Once he'd raised his power first, subduing these people would be easy.

Ross picked up the Marines' list from beside him and began reading more carefully.

Self-aware as he was, he'd always planned to poach from the Marines first.

Compared to undisciplined pirates, Marines with justice and order were clearly the better choice.

Whether it was lazy justice or absolute justice within the Marines, at least they were people who followed rules. His chances of recruiting them were higher, and more of them would be willing to work for him.

Skipping past a string of tempting names like Sakazuki, Kuzan, Tsuru, and Garp, Ross's gaze soon stopped at the very bottom of the list.

[Marine Elite Training Camp Graduation List]

[Gion, Chaton, Onigumo...]

"These ones seem to have a lot of future potential. As a future core team, they look pretty good. And fresh out of training, they should be highly moldable."

Ross rubbed his chin, thinking to himself.

'Momousagi' Gion and 'Giuppon' Chaton would both become Admiral candidates in the future—their strength might not reach S-Class, but at least A-Class.

Onigumo would become an elite Vice Admiral later, with strength at least B+, definitely stronger than Guernica.

In just a moment, Ross had an idea.

"Guernica, contact the higher-ups. Tell them my previous slaves were too weak. Either find me a few from Impel Down's sixth level, or give me an Admiral as a personal bodyguard."

Ross spoke boldly, his tone brooking no argument.

"Huh?! Th-this... As you command!"

Watching Guernica stand dumbfounded for a long moment before grunting out his reply, Ross just shook his head inwardly.

Tch, still too young. He hadn't seen enough Celestial Dragons.

If he'd only asked for a few rookies on the list, Saturn would probably think he'd been swapped out.

Other Celestial Dragons would mock him for regressing instead of progressing.

A Celestial Dragon bossing around an Admiral—that was standard procedure.

To avoid these hassles, he had to talk in the tone of a Celestial Dragon.

This was also the confidence the World Government had built over 800 years by continuously elevating the Celestial Dragons' status.

The last person who dared provoke a Celestial Dragon was Rocks—the strongest man on the seas in nearly a century. His grave grass was probably several zhang tall by now.

Before Monkey D. Luffy set sail, the Celestial Dragons' rule was ironclad, untouchable.

"What's with that look? Don't just stand there."

Seeing Guernica still dawdling, Ross couldn't help frowning.

It was just passing a message to his grandfather—why was he dragging his feet?

Ross was already considering replacing Guernica.

Sure enough, if you didn't train them yourself, they never quite worked the way you wanted.

"Ah, yes! Saint Ross, I'll see to it immediately!"

Guernica hurriedly agreed, not daring to hesitate any longer.

Today was his first day on the job handling Celestial Dragon affairs. He had imagined the process would be difficult, but he never expected it to reach this level.

Negotiating to have prisoners from the sixth level of Impel Down dragged out as slaves, or having an Admiral serve as Saint Ross's bodyguard—these were all impossible tasks.

But if he failed to deliver, Saint Ross would surely kill him.

It was only his first day officially in CP0. Please, no...

His mind in chaos, Guernica dialed the Den Den Mushi of the Marine Headquarters Fleet Admiral.

During his onboarding training, for the convenience of future missions, he had obtained the contact information of all the Marine division commanders.

At least in the eyes of the World Government, CP0's status was above the Marines.

Marine Headquarters, Marineford, the highest-floor meeting room.

Inside the room, discussions about the Buster Call were underway, briefly interrupted by the sudden ring of a Den Den Mushi.

Marine Fleet Admiral Kong, a burly middle-aged man with a Mohawk, had his displeasure wiped clean from his face the moment he learned the call came from a CP0-exclusive Den Den Mushi. A warm smile spread across his features.

He gave his colleagues a look, signaling that it was a summons from the World Government, then decisively answered the Den Den Mushi.

Kong believed the call's content was most likely related to the Buster Call, so there was no need to hide it from the others present.

"Moshi moshi, this is Marine Headquarters. I am Fleet Admiral Kong!"

The expressions of the headquarters officers present varied as they took in Fleet Admiral Kong's unusual demeanor.

Marine Admiral Sengoku and Vice Admiral Tsuru furrowed their brows slightly, as if dissatisfied. Marine Hero Garp noisily ate his donuts, acting as if neither the meeting nor the call had anything to do with him.

Headquarters Vice Admiral Sakazuki glanced at Kong, then quickly averted his gaze, focusing back on studying the Buster Call plan documents spread across the table.

Headquarters Vice Admiral Blamenco was trimming his nails, appearing nonchalant, but his posture straightened slightly, as if he was very interested in the call's content.

Headquarters Vice Admiral Kuzan's face was ashen, whether from the Buster Call being executed on Ohara or from the unexpected phone call, it was unclear.

After Kong finished speaking, the Den Den Mushi in his hand immediately transmitted Guernica's icy voice:

"I am CP0 of the World Government. By order of Saint Ross, Admiral Sengoku is commanded to serve as His Highness's personal bodyguard!"

As soon as these words were spoken, not only did everyone in Marine Headquarters change color, but even Ross looked at Guernica with a hint of displeasure.

Good grief, so you weren't arrogant—you're just genuinely stupid!

Damn it, you can't read between the lines and still made it into CP0?

With one sentence, you've made me offend the entire Marine force. What a masterstroke.